Yezidis, Iraqi MPs demand inquiry into suspected Baghouz mass grave
Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper published a report on February 23 quoting an unnamed source claiming British Special Forces had discovered the severed heads of 50 Yezidi women in dustbins around the last ISIS stronghold in Baghouz.
The report was not corroborated by the coalition, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Iraqi, or Kurdish officials.
On Thursday, AFP quoted SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin, who said a mass grave had been discovered in an area near Baghouz 10 days ago.
“It contains the bodies of men as well as the severed heads of women,” Afrin told AFP, adding that the number of victims and their identity is currently unknown.
Although none of the reports have been independently verified, Yezidis and Iraqi politicians have demanded more information.
Luqman Guly, spokesman for the Yezidi tribes in Shingal, issued a media statement demanding government action.
“We call on the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to undertake its responsibility towards its citizens to search for the corpses of these Yezidi girls and repatriation of the martyrs by communicating with relevant governments,” Guly said.
He called on the US-led coalition, NGOs, the UN Security Council, and consular representatives in Iraq and Syria to help return missing Yezidis still held in ISIS captivity.
Yezidi NGO Yazda also issued a statement on Wednesday saying it is “deeply concerned” by reports of the mass grave.
“Yazda calls on the United Nation and the Iraqi government to open an urgent investigation on the specific matter and pursue ISIS members wherever they might have been seeking safe havens,” Yazda said.
Saaib Khidir, a Yezidi MP in the Iraqi parliament, criticized the Iraqi government for failing to issue a statement responding to the reports.
“At least reassurances to the Yezidi people [had to be given] that there is a government part that pays attention,” Khihir said.
ISIS members handed over to Iraq by the SDF need to be interrogated by the Ministry of Interior to disclose the whereabouts of missing Yezidis, he added.
The Iraqi government has been given custody of more than 250 Iraqi ISIS members who had surrendered to the SDF.
On Wednesday, Kurdish news outlet Furat.fm published a graphic unverified video allegedly captured by an SDF fighter which appears to show a mass grave being exhumed.
Several Iraqi politicians have reacted to the reports.
Mohammed al-Halbousi, speaker of the Iraqi parliament, issued a statement on Wednesday, condemning the “heinous” crime.
“The pain and sorrow fills our souls for this heinous terrorist crime committed against our Yezidi people by the outlaws of this era as a result of the oppression of extremism,” Halbousi said.
He said the parliament will form a committee to “follow” the case of missing people.